The Perfect Witness

by Iris Johansen

  “As soon as I get the chance.”

  “I can wait. Don’t take any risks.” The next moment, she was running down the steps of the plane.

  “When what’s over?” Allie asked.

  “Buckle up.” He sat down and fastened his seat belt. “I’ll tell you once we’re airborne. I’m not trying to keep anything from you.”

  “You could have fooled me.” She buckled her seat belt.

  “Earlier today you told me that I should go see Renata and make my plans.” He smiled. “I took that as permission. Now you’re complaining?”

  She had told him that, she thought, annoyed. She hadn’t realized that she would feel so isolated and out of the loop when it happened. “Yes.”

  “Well, at least you’re not denying or making excuses.” He leaned back in his seat as the plane started rolling down the runway. “And that very contrary attitude makes me think that you’re beginning to come back to normal.”

  “I don’t know what normal is anymore. My normal was never like anyone else’s.” She glanced sideways at him as the plane began to lift off the ground. “And neither was yours, according to Renata. It appears you were a bad boy and didn’t obey the family rules.”

  “Guilty. But I always tried to do what was best for the family.” He met her gaze. “And I never risked anyone’s life but my own.”

  “Until now.”

  His lips tightened. “Until now.”

  She could feel the force and tension in that brief reply. It caused a ripple of disturbance to run through her. She had learned a good deal about him tonight from Renata. She wasn’t sure that she wished to know this much. She hurriedly glanced away from him to the wisp of clouds drifting by the window. “What helicopter were you talking about?”

  “We’re not going directly to Dar es Salaam. I’m having the pilot land in the hills about a hundred miles south of the city. We’re going to be met by a helicopter flown by Dirk Thorne, one of Renata’s agents. He’ll take us to Talboa.” He made a face. “Renata knows I could fly the damn helicopter, but she wants Thorne as a backup in case of trouble.”

  And another indication of Renata’s protectiveness about Mandak, Allie thought. “What’s in Talboa?”

  “It’s the area where Simon’s ashes were scattered after Lee and Natalie had him cremated. That’s why they wanted their ashes returned here to Tanzania, so that they could be with him.”

  “Ashes? Simon was cremated, too?”

  “There wasn’t much left to bury.” He added grimly, “And if they’d seen fit to do anything else, Lee and Natalie couldn’t have been sure that Praland wouldn’t have dug up the remains and desecrated them. He was absolutely furious about everything connected to that night I took away his toy. He was foaming at the mouth and making wild threats when he heard about Simon’s final arrangements. He tried to bribe the crematorium to tell him where they’d taken the ashes.”

  “Sick,” Allie said. More than sick. Praland’s behavior bordered on being unhinged. “Simon wasn’t safe from him even in death.”

  “Lee and Natalie made sure that their son was safe. They knew what a monster Praland was, and they took precautions.”

  “And are we taking precautions? You said that no one could know about the funeral.”

  “That’s why we’re avoiding Dar es Salaam. As I told you, I’ve arranged for Lee’s and Natalie’s ashes to be smuggled out of the embassy by James McKeller, one of the clerks. He’ll be taking them to Talboa. We’ll be there to meet him when he arrives.”

  “It seems … obscene having to sneak around like this. It’s a funeral, for God’s sake.”

  “And Praland has nothing to do with God. He’s strictly at the other end of the spectrum.”

  “I know,” she said wearily. “And we’ll make it right for Lee and Natalie. Where is this place?”

  “It’s a very beautiful little cove on a large lake,” he said gently. He handed her his phone and pointed to the tiny mark on the map. “Talboa.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  “TALBOA, PRALAND,” AMAN KOBU said as he checked his GPS. “It looks as if McKeller is heading for Lake Talboa. There’s nothing else on this stretch of road.”

  “And you’re certain that McKeller took the ashes?”

  “Of course I’m certain.” Kobu realized his mistake when Praland fell silent. The son of a bitch didn’t tolerate any sign of arrogance or disrespect. He went on hurriedly, “I’ve had a man watching the embassy for the past twenty-four hours. The two stainless-steel containers that were in the storeroom of the embassy are now in McKeller’s car. Father Elwyn, the chaplain, left the embassy at noon today without saying where he was going.”

  “But no sign of Mandak or the woman?”

  “Not yet. But I’m sure that we’ll have Mandak in our sights soon.”

  “I don’t want him in your sights,” Praland said with soft venom. “I want him brought to me so that I can tear his testicles out of his body. You can kill the woman, but I want Mandak.”

  “And you’ll have him. Are you sending me more men to help bring—”

  “You’ll have to make do with your own men. You have weapons, even missiles. What more do you need? I’ll send you reinforcements when you tell me that Talboa is McKeller’s definite destination. Mandak has fooled us before. I won’t be tricked again.” He added mockingly, “You’re not afraid of facing Mandak by yourself, are you? He’s such a gentle soul.”

  “More like a tiger.”

  “It’s odd that you should mention that glorious beast. You know I have a great fondness for tigers. You’ve seen the tiger I acquired from that poacher in India?”

  Kobu tensed. “You know I have.”

  “Yes, I thought you were present during his last feeding. I’m planning on using him in many more interesting and innovative ways. For instance, I’ve not been pleased with the performance of a little whore I took out of one of our houses in Madagascar. True, she’s only thirteen, but she should be able to do what I wish without weeping and screaming. Don’t you think that’s true, Kobu?”

  “Whatever you say.”

  “So I thought that I’d put the tiger cage next to the bed and tell her if she didn’t please me that she’d join him.” He chuckled. “I believe that should arouse her enthusiasm. Though I don’t know if I can resist giving her to that striped beauty even if she does please me. Can you imagine the carnage, the exquisite agony?”

  Kobu swallowed. “Why are you telling me this, Praland?”

  “Why, you mentioned a tiger. I thought you’d be interested.” He paused. “Just as I’m interested that we may have gotten close to Mandak after all these years. I just wanted you to know that if you screw up and let him get away, you’ll have an intimate meeting with my tiger. I’ll let you watch him toy with the whore the first night. The second night, I’ll have you be his evening meal. Do you understand?”

  “We’re not certain Mandak will be—” He inhaled sharply. “Yes, I understand, Praland.” He hung up.

  Shit!

  He wished he’d never told Praland that McKeller could be on his way to meet Mandak with those canisters. Let someone else take the pressure.

  His palms were moist on the steering wheel as he guided the SUV over the bumpy dirt road.

  He reached for his phone to get his men moving from their encampment a good thirty miles away. He wouldn’t wait for Praland to send any more men. He couldn’t take that chance if they got here too late. He’d also see if he could pick up a few men in the village on the way to Talboa. He knew of at least four bandits who operated out of this area. He could round up more if he dangled enough money at them. That was the smart thing to do.

  It was the only thing to do to be certain of survival. He had to kill the woman and serve Mandak up to Praland.

  Then he could relax and watch Mandak be the meal for Praland’s tiger.

  * * *

  “THERE IT IS.” MANDAK WAS looking out the window of the helicopter as it banked over the la
ke. “But I don’t see McKeller.”

  “There he is.” Thorne, the pilot, was staring down at the crisscross of paths and the twisting dirt road that branched off from the larger two-lane rock road. “I think he’s coming up the road toward the lake.”

  Mandak nodded. “And he told Renata he’d be driving an SUV.” He turned to Allie. “What do you think? It’s a beautiful place, isn’t it?”

  She nodded jerkily. She could see that it was lovely, but she was too tense to fully appreciate it.

  “We’ll be down in two minutes,” the pilot said. “And I shouldn’t give you more than thirty minutes before I need to take off again. This isn’t Praland territory, but he has eyes and ears everywhere. One phone call, and he’d have men streaming down here toward the town.”

  “Thirty should be enough.” Mandak shook his head as Allie opened her lips to protest. “I told you that I’d get you to their funeral service. I didn’t tell you how long you could stay. I’m not risking your neck. We’ll make those minutes count.” He looked down at the ground again. “I can see someone getting out of another car parked down by the lake. I think it’s Father Elwyn. He conducted the service for Simon. I told McKeller to make arrangements with him to come and bless the ashes. Lee and Natalie always liked him.”

  Allie had known Lee and Natalie were Catholic, but they had seldom attended church in Flagstaff. She had thought that they just didn’t want to arouse interest or questions about her arrival in town. “Then I’m glad you were able to make the arrangements with him. It will make everything seem more normal.” As if anything could have any semblance of normalcy with this hideous game of hide-and-seek going on. “I see a canoe down there on the bank. What is it doing there?”

  “We’ll be going out on the lake to scatter the ashes. That’s what they did with Simon’s remains.”

  “So Praland had no chance of recovering them?” she asked grimly.

  “That’s right.”

  “Ugly. So terribly ugly.” The helicopter had reached the ground, and Father Elwyn was walking toward them. Allie reached for the handle of the door. “I want to at least have a word with the priest.”

  Mandak nodded. “I’m going to scout around a little to make sure it’s safe. Then I’ll go talk to McKeller and help him take out the canisters and put them in the canoe.”

  “Thirty minutes,” Thorne repeated. “No more, Mandak.”

  “Right. But I won’t cheat them.”

  “No, we can’t do that.” The air was sticky and warm, and Allie shrugged out of her jacket and left it on her seat as she opened the door to jump out of the helicopter.

  “I hope everything goes well, ma’am.” Thorne was there to help her, his hazel eyes shining with sympathy. “God bless.”

  “Thank you. You’re very kind.”

  But she closed both Mandak and the pilot out as she walked toward Father Elywn. He was a man in his sixties, with gray hair and a tanned face that showed deep crow’s-feet around brown eyes that held only gentleness and sympathy. “I’m Allie Girard, Lee and Natalie Walberg were family to me. Thank you for coming, Father. I know there must be an element of risk for you.”

  “If I were afraid of risk, I would have left this country a long time ago.” He took her hand and shook it. “But the need is here, and so is the satisfaction of supplying that need. Lee and Natalie were good people, and I’m sorry for your loss, Miss Girard. But you must remember, it’s only the loss of the ones left behind. They’re now in the hands of the angels with their son, Simon.”

  “I’m trying to remember.” Her eyes were stinging with tears as she looked up at him. “But there’s so much evil. It’s very difficult, Father.”

  “Do as I do, serve the need. Forgive those who trespass against you.”

  She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I’m not that generous. And I can’t forgive those who trespassed against Lee and Natalie.”

  “Then I’ll pray for you as well as the Walbergs.” He took her arm. “Now let’s go to the boat. I see Mr. Mandak frowning at us.” He was leading her toward the canoe. “He also has trouble with forgiveness. But he’s an extraordinary man, and you’ll be safe with him. Just cling to him as you would Lee and Natalie.”

  “Cling to him? I don’t think so, Father.” She smiled shakily. “But thank you for talking to me. I don’t know much about religion. My only experience is once a year having my mother dress me up in fancy clothes and take me to Easter Mass. It was more like a show than a service. But I wanted to feel that death wasn’t the end for Lee and Natalie.”

  “It’s not the end. After we say good-bye to them, let’s arrange to meet and have a long talk.”

  “I’d like that, Father. But I may be very busy for the next couple weeks.” Survival. Revenge. Killing. Very busy. “Let me get in touch with you.” She gazed out over the crystal blue water, the verdant trees hanging low, the flamboyant blossoms exploding with pink and orchid color. “It’s so beautiful here.”

  “The Gates of Heaven.”

  “What?”

  “Natalie Walberg told me she wanted Simon’s ashes to be scattered at a place as close to the Gates of Heaven as I could find. I’d done missionary work in this area and remembered it.”

  “The Gates of Heaven,” she repeated. “I like that.”

  “It seems a particularly holy place to me. We’ll row through those waters and I’ll say a prayer and we’ll stream the ashes into that beautiful crystal water. Perhaps they’ll join with their Simon’s.”

  “Perhaps. I hope so.”

  “But it doesn’t matter,” he repeated, as they reached the canoe. “This is only the Gates of Heaven. They’re already inside and together.”

  “Get in the canoe,” Mandak said curtly. “Sorry, Father. I have to get Miss Girard out of here as soon as possible. I’ve checked out the area as much as I can, and it seems safe, but everything could change in minutes.” He swung Allie into the canoe and turned to the sandy-haired young man standing beside him. “McKeller, you’ve done your job. Get back in your SUV and get out of here.”

  McKeller nodded. “Right.” He turned to Allie, and said gently, “My condolences, ma’am.” He looked to be only in his middle twenties, and his brown eyes were warm and kind. “I wish I could stay. I’ll pray for them.”

  “Thank you.”

  “And I’ll also pray for you.” Then he was moving toward the SUV. “I’ll report in to Renata on the way back to the embassy and tell her so far, so good, Mandak.”

  “Fine.” Mandak jumped into the canoe and took a paddle. “Father?”

  “Coming.” Father Elwyn was already in the canoe and settling himself beside the two shiny stainless canisters. “Good to see you, Mr. Mandak. We always seem to meet at these regrettable occasions.”

  “But you say they’re not really sad occasions.” Mandak was dipping the oar into the water. “I’m afraid you’ve never been able to convince me.”

  “Give me time.” The priest smiled. “Miss Girard is also a skeptic, but she’s more open than you.”

  “Because she desperately wants to believe. You’ve caught her at a vulnerable moment.”

  “All our moments on this Earth are vulnerable. It’s just a matter of degree.” He unscrewed first one canister, then the other. Then he bowed his head. “Now shall we pray for the eternal souls of these two fine people?”

  * * *

  ALLIE WATCHED THE MIST OF ash drift into the clear water, lie on the surface for an instant, then disappear. The priest’s words came back to her.

  Maybe their ashes will merge with those of their son, Simon.

  I hope it’s true. I hope you’re with him now. I know you’re with each other. God would make sure you stayed together.

  I’m feeling a little lost now. I know you’re going to be happy with him, but will it be all right if I talk to you now and then?

  Peace. Serenity. Love.

  Maybe that’s an answer? I don’t think that’s wishful thinking. Okay, then that’s wh
at I’ll do. I promise I won’t bother you too often.

  The ashes were gone now, vanished beneath the clear lake waters.

  “Allie.” Father Elwyn was smiling at her. “Remember. It’s only their bodies at the Gates of Heaven. Their souls have gone ahead.” His face was lit with loving kindness. “It’s true. Believe it. They’re together and you can be sure that those souls will see—”

  His head exploded!

  She screamed as brain matter flew in all directions.

  “Down!” Mandak threw down his oar and pushed her to the bottom of the canoe.

  A bullet struck the side of the boat.

  The priest had slumped to the side and was lying over the edge of the canoe.

  It wasn’t happening.

  It couldn’t be happening.

  His head exploding.

  Just like the night her father had shot Jokman in the head.

  Gates of Heaven. Gates of Heaven.

  A barrage of shots were being rained on them from the bank. She could see nine or ten men firing rifles and handguns.

  “We’ve got to get off this canoe. We’re sitting targets.” Mandak began to rock the boat. “When I tilt it, slide into the water and head for the far shore. I’ll be with you.”

  But the priest would not be with them.

  Dead.

  Gates of Heaven.

  “Now!”

  She slid into the icy water.

  A bullet struck the water next to her.

  She went beneath the water and began swimming.

  Mandak! Where was he?

  There he was just to the side.

  He was surfacing, heading for the far shore as he’d told her to do.

  He shouldn’t have surfaced. She could see the bullets striking on all sides of him.

  But then he was underwater, beside her, gesturing in the opposite direction.

  He wanted her to go toward the bank from where their attackers had been firing.

  Why?

  Because he’d been leading those men in a false direction and wanted to double back to escape them?

  Would it work?

  No way of knowing.

  Keep swimming. Take as few breaths as possible. She’d always been a strong swimmer.